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Simple Split Chicken Breast (Bone In, Skin On)

It makes no difference what day of the week or time of the year it is – you can always find split chicken breast at a great price. You just have to shop around a bit. This week, I found a package of three (almost 3 pounds of chicken) for $4.89 at stop & shop. It was a manager’s special, of course. Oh how I live for those!

A split chicken breast is nothing more than a “regular” chicken breast with the skin on and the tenderloin and a bit of rib meat attached. In my opinion, it’s one of the best cuts of chicken to cook. The skin makes sure that the breast stays juicy and the bone just makes it tastier. You obviously don’t have to eat the skin, but i suggest cooking it with it on and then removing it before serving if that’s what you like. My husband LOVES the skin, so I usually take it off of my piece and give it to him to eat. Everyone wins!

This is an extraordinarily simple way to cook split chicken breast and it always comes out tender and delicious.

Ingredients

2-3 lbs split chicken breast

olive oil for brushing

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp garlic or onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or paprika, if you prefer)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Wash the chicken breast and pat dry with a paper towel

Use your hands (or a brush) to coat the skin lightly with olive oil

Season (on both sides) with the kosher salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper- to taste

Roast on a rack or tin broiler pan for 1 hour

Let sit 10 minutes and serve!

I usually make this with home made macaroni & cheese, and a salad but tonight I’m feeling a bit lazy. Joshua didn’t take a nap yet today so I didn’t have time to prep the home made mac & cheese. Instead I’m serving the box kind (I love the shop rite brand white cheddar mac & cheese, so that’s what i’m going with tonight).

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91 responses to “Simple Split Chicken Breast (Bone In, Skin On)”

Thank you for posting this recipe. Split chicken breasts were on sale at my local grocery, and I’d never seen or cooked with one. I googled for recipes, and your blog came up. I tried it, and it was wonderful. The breast stayed moist, which is hard to do with a breast, and the skin tasted fantastic. I did need much more than a teaspoon of olive oil, though. I plan on making this again!

Thanks. this was easy..my dad, who is in his 90’s goes to the local legion meat draws and wins often. He doesn’t cook so much these days and gives me his random winnings. So I often have no idea how to cook these “prizes” because I would probably never buy them. Smells good and tastes good!

I found your site on google. I had a pair of chicken breasts aging in the freezer. They are in the oven now thanks to you! I can’t wait to taste! Oh, and I’ve got my eye on the Rib Eye Roast!! Thanks so much and I hope you continue cooking!

I am making these right now! Thanks for offering up these recipes and tips. I cook every meal for my family so websites like this blog is a lifesaver.

Your dinner sounds great! I love mac and cheese, salad, and biscuits. It is only that is too much food. The macaroni and biscuits are both grains. For true health the dinner plate should be 2/3 veggies or fruits (as an after dinner snack). Also carbs should be eaten less than proteins or meats. The food pyramid was altered in the 1950’s to double the amount of grain (the same time butter was replaced with hydrogenated oils like margarine). Since then chronic health problems and disease have skyrocketed.

Thank you for this recipe! I had a fast second to cook a split chicken breast on sale at the grocery store and didn’t want to take a lot of time with fresh ingredients tonight. I found your recipe first and tried it. It’s good! Glad you took the time to share it with others. For my tastes, and after following your recipe to spec, I would suggest 1/2 the amount of cayenne and twice the amount of garlic powder. Cheers!

i too googled for split chicken breast recipes and came upon this. so so tasty!! i used different seasonings the both times i’ve used this recipe and both times they’ve been amazing. thank you for posting this!

We’re getting 20-30″ of snow this weekend, so there was very little meat still left at the grocery as everyone stocked up to be snowed in. But the “manager’s special” was available and I grabbed the last chicken in the case: bone-in, skin-on chicken.

After a ton of searching for what to do with it, I came across your recipe. Thank you! I am anxious to try it for dinner tomorrow, and then use it again as I know I can get this chicken at a bargain.

This chicken is amazing! I added rosemary rather than the cayenne because of my young children. This is absolutely delicious and the final result was the perfectly cooked chicken breast, juicy yet crispy. Thanks so much for sharing!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I have been looking on line for about thirty minutes for baked/roasted bone-in split chix breast (BISCB) recipes. Most sites I have visited which claim to have wonderful BISCB recipes list a zillion boneless, skinless recipes. I even searched the Food Network site and was overwhelmed with the boneless action.

Thank you so very much for posting a simple recipe which actually reflects the BISCB recipe search. I’m almost too frustrated right now to cook!

I just made this and it came out how I like my chicken to be. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender, without having to fry it in all that oil.

However I did not have kosher salt, so I used seasoned salt. I used both onion and garlic powder and regular black pepper. I also baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was delicious! I will most definitely be making this again and again.

Found split chicken breasts on sale for $0.99/lb so I picked up a couple packages but had no idea how to cook them — never made them before! But going to cook them this afternoon with your simple recipe above! Thanks so much for sharing!

I’m glad to know that I am not the only one that has never cooked split chicken breast! I also have been searching several websites,including FoodNetwork, before finding your recipe. Can’t wait to try it tonight for supper.

I made this last night; it was delicious and moist and very, very simple to prepare. My boyfriend told me that Colonel Sanders has nothing on me! A great recipe for a busy night; I get home at 7:30 so ease and speed of preparation is a must. Thank you so much for this recipe.

Add me to the list of people who had a pair of these aging in the freezer bc I didn’t know how to prep them properly. Easy & delicious – thank you! I used a little bit of minced garlic (sparingly) bc I didn’t have garlic powder in the cabinet and it came out just great.

I also probably overdid it a little on the cayenne bc I didn’t use exact measurements but that’s okay bc I like my food muy caliente!

I also use a recipe similar to this i bake it the same but i seperate the skin from the breast and put a garlic butter pat underneath and rub it on the breast meat, it makes it super moist. I also use lemon pepper seasoning instead of the rest and it is fantastic. My kids like me to make this at least once a week.

I totally agree on the benefits of cooking chicken breasts on the bone and leaving skin on while it’s baking. Another easy but flavorful twist is to add fresh rosemary and fresh garlic when rubbing chicken with the olive oil and salt and pepper. I use sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Lift the skin and rub the ingredients on the meat and replace the skin adding more on top of the skin. Take a lemon and an orange and squeeze the juice over the top of the breasts. Cut a couple of apples, I use a golden delicious a granny smith and one red, in halves or quarters and place around the chicken breasts. Often I throw some red potatoes, also cut in halves or quarters, that I have rubbed with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. I cook the chicken for 20 or 30 minutes on higher heat, 375, to get the tops brown and any bacteria killed, then drop heat to 275 or 300, cover loosely with foil and cook slowly for a couple of hours. Really really juicy and a nice flavor with a side dish ready as well.

I just bought split chicken breasts at my local Hy-Vee for 89 cents/lb so I needed a recipe for bone in chicken breasts! I rubbed on the oil with my hands since I did not want to have to wash the basting brush. I used garlic salt instead of the salt plus the garlic powder and instead of the cayenne I used a mixture of chicken spices (rosemary, oregano, garlic, onion, basil, sea salt, orange and lemon peel) from a grilling chicken mixture that came in a disposable grinder from my grocery as well. My family thought they were wonderful! Next time I’m going to try them with the Chipotle grinder. I’m going back to the store again to get more chicken before the sale is over!

We had it for dinner tonight and it turned out wonderful. My husband was running late so I tented it in foil for about 20 minutes before we actually had dinner. Also added Mrs. Dash Table Blend along with the other seasoning. Thanks!

This is an outstanding recipe! I made this the other night and my whole family loved it. This is saying a lot considering how picky my children are. Additionally, this recipe works with all our food restrictions and it tastes fabulous! Both my children have multiple food allergies and I have Celiac Disease which means I must adhere to a gluten free diet. Needless to say, it is very difficult to find one recipe that my whole family can eat and we all love it. I will be adding this chicken to our regular menu. Thanks Jenna.

I’m making this for the fourth time!! It’s my husbands new favorite way to eat chicken. I never knew how to cook split chicken breasts so I always ended up making soup with them….not anymore!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

GnP 20 oz. split fry chicken breast w/ ribs were on sale for 1.99 (limit 6) coupon at the store. Of coarse I bought six and froze the other 5. figured i’d look up a different way tonight – since it is currently 12:20am – 20mins in the oven and already guessing this will turn out well judging by the remarks. I was planning on ripping the meat out and throwing it in some italian dressing and pan searing – but hey, it’s always fun to try someones recipe out. ty for the easy bake :D

I just stumbled across this and im trying it tonight. All of the reviews seem great so hopefully I will like it. It is so easy and I got my split chicken breasts for $1/pound. So its cheap and easy! Thanks for the receipe.

I bought some split breasts on sale tonight at the store and a package of BBQ Shake and Bake. When I got home I googled ‘Split Chicken Breasts cooking time’, because I knew the time on the box just had to be wrong. After reading your recipe the shake and bake went into the cupboard and I prepared them following your recipe. They came out so tender and juicy I’ll probably throw the shake and bake away, and just make chicken this way from now on. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

Well, I wanted to post the pic but there is not an option to do that. Its ok, I haven’t tasted it yet but I think this is going to be amazing, it smells so good. Used your seasoning with the exception of garlic powder, out of stock so I rubbed them down with a little minced garlic and mixed the juice from the jar in with the olive oil; added a little poultry and soul food seasoning… paired with mac and cheese per your suggestion, Instant Potato Pancakes, and spinach.

This was fabulous. Much better than making on the grill. Just season and put in oven. Once cooked and cooled I removed the skin of the breast I intended to eat – the meat was juicy, tasty and the seasoning perfect. I also froze a couple of the breast skin on. Defrosting with microwaving, skin on, on low heat left them also juicy and tasty. Great recipe – thank you!!

I saw this recipe just today doing a Google search and boy am I glad. I’m like everyone else and never know what to do with bone-in chicken breast. I made only 2 changes. Since the chicken breasts we get are always huge I cooked them for 1 1/2 hours instead of an hour to make sure it was cooked through. I also used 1/2 tsp each onion powder and garlic salt. It was wonderful. The extra time did nothing to the juiciness and the skins was delicious. Thank you so much!

This sounds like a great idea for a meal using split chicken breasts, which are a great deal when on sale or not, compared to skinless chicken breasts..I did this recipe tonight for the chicken I used for a soup with wild rice, mushrooms, etc..my husband said it smelled great..was surprised at the flavor of the chicken as I cut/shredded it for the soup..so moist! I used sea salt, f2f garlic powder,and a Jamaican jerk blend I had since I need to stock up on spices badly.

My new favorite recipe blog!! I’m not much of a cook and these are by far the easiest recipes that I have looked up online. First time making split chicken breasts and it couldnt have been more simple but soooo tasty. Thank you

It might be nice to make a simple sauce as well. When the chicken is finished cooking, add some butter/flour to the pan with all of the chicken juices. The skin is nice and crispy with all of the natural juices from the cooked chicken in a gravy form.